This invention relates to a combination plant food supplement and compost material and to a process of making the same.
Tons of fish and shell fish scrap are discarded every year. This creates an immense problem of sight, odor and disposal. It has been established that fishwaste composting can be a possible practice in economically disposing of fishwaste from seafood processors. However, problems exist when using fishwaste for composting because mechanisms controlling decomposition thereof and the dynamics of fishwaste compost N in the soil are not fully understood or have not heretofore been determined. Coupled with the lack of knowledge of the benefits of fishwaste as noted, a first disadvantage is present in that the odor of decomposition does not make such use always practical. Also, this type of scrap induces the breeding of fly larva, resulting in a generally unsatisfactory fly problem. Further, a problem exists for making fertilizer from fish scrap in that there is substantial ammonia loss when the fish and shell fish scrap are mixed with other byproducts such as sawdust. This ammonia loss results in the reduction of nitrogen and renders the final product of minimum value as a fertilizer.
As noted in a publication of American Society of Agricultural engineers, 1994, Volume 37 (3) pages 853-856, a process of composting fish scrap and in particular crab scrap has been developed. Such process was developed for small individual crab processors wherein ingredients of the compost are loaded in a wooden bin in alternate layers of crab scraps and pine sawdust. One disadvantage of such process is its unavailability to mass production of compost since layering of the scrap with sawdust in a confined space is impractical. To be practical in areas that dispose of tons of fish and crab scrap every week, mass composting must be available. Another disadvantage of the prior process is that preparation of a compost takes several months which of course limits a fast turnover of the product.